Reading has always been part of my life. I was fortunate to have
been brought up in a family where reading was encouraged and
seen as the key to educational progress. We didn’t have a TV until I
was fourteen or fifteen years old, so reading was a lifesaver during
those dreary weeks of summer rain which were not unusual in the
West of Ireland. I can remember reading Exodus by Leon Uris
while I was in bed sick with the flu at the age of thirteen. Another
occasion also comes to mind. I remember the Prefect of Studies
(a priest) being surprised to find me reading Wuthering Heights at
the age of fourteen in the study hall of St Jarlath’s College, Tuam.